


Crumbs

by starkhasheart



Category: Splatoon
Genre: Angst, Anxiety, Crushes, F/F, First Kiss, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Love Confessions, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-04
Updated: 2018-07-03
Packaged: 2019-06-05 01:00:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15158963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starkhasheart/pseuds/starkhasheart
Summary: During one of their rare days off, Marina invites Pearl to a bakery with her. What was once a casual outing turns into something else.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hi this is the first fic i've written for pearl and marina
> 
> both of their outfits are inspired by their outfits from the octo expansion
> 
> sorry if there's any typos!!! enjoy

The first thing Pearl sees when she wakes up is the ceiling of her bedroom, lit up by the morning light streaming through her half-closed curtains. She grimaces, eyes screwing shut as her hands reach up to drag down her face. She yawns before sitting up and stretching, grabbing her phone off her nightstand in one swift movement. Her lockscreen tells her it’s past ten in the morning and she almost flips before she remembers that today is her day off.

Huh. Weird having a day off. She feels like she’s constantly on the clock with Off The Hook, with Splatfest performances and announcing the news every day. She doesn’t really complain about the work, though—she enjoys it. She enjoys performing in front of crowds and having playful banter with Marina when they’re live. It’s pretty much her dream job and she wouldn’t have it any other way.

Her mind falls back to Marina, and she curses her heart as it nearly skips a beat.

Pearl’s not sure what to call what she has for Marina, but she would loathe to admit it be a crush. She couldn’t risk her career or her friendship with the octoling over a dumb schoolyard crush. She just admired Marina a lot. Yeah, that’s it. Marina possesses incredible musical talents that compliments Pearl’s rapping skills. She’s also just smart, knows her way around technology, and she’s incredibly _gorgeous_. Just thinking about her face when she laughs at one of Pearl’s stupid raps makes Pearl’s cheeks burn. She shakes her head.

Marina’s off today too, right? She must be. Maybe Pearl could hit her up and they could hang out? Or, maybe not. Marina probably wants to spend her day off in peace and quiet. Perhaps she’s reading a big book or something about heavy machinery. _She would, she’s such a nerd_ , Pearl thinks to herself, cracking a small smile at the thought.

Just as Pearl tosses her phone onto her comforter and begins to get out of bed, a notification pops up on her phone’s screen. She halts, squinting her eyes, expecting it to be her manager asking her to come into work. She’s formulating a scathing reply before she notices Marina’s picture on her screen.

Oh. This isn’t what she expected.

“ _Hey, Pearlie!,”_ the message reads, and Pearl’s lips quirk into a small smile. She loves when Marina calls her that—in fact, she only likes when Marina calls her that. She remembers countless times when a crewmember would use the nickname and she’d throw them dirty looks, but when Marina used it, it just made her stomach to flips. “ _I know we’re both off today, so I was wondering if you wanted to hang out? I know we’re together a lot during work and stuff, but it’s always fun to just have a day to ourselves and just hang out! Let me know if you’re free!_ ”

Pearl almost snaps her phone in half in her haste to reply, then she screeches to a stop in her tracks. No need to seem too eager and reply right away. Wait a few minutes, she tells herself. In the meantime, she rushes out of bed to get semi-decent, brushing her teeth and fixing her hair properly before diving back onto her bed and typing out her reply.

“ _Yo, of course I’m free, let’s totally hang out_ ,” she types, keyboard clicking with every letter. “ _What do you wanna do?_ ”

There were tons of things they could do in Inkopolis—maybe they could do some turf wars, or go shopping, or maybe Marina could come over to Pearl’s mansion to hang out, maybe play some video games…the possibilities were endless.

Pearl’s phone vibrates in her hands. She glances down to see the response, and she probably looked like she saw an alien.

“ _Have you eaten yet? There’s this nice little bakery near downtown Inkopolis that’s really good. I don’t think you’ve been to it. My treat! You wanna go?_ ”

Pearl’s mind struggles to think about if she’s seen a bakery near downtown Inkopolis. So far, she’s drawing a blank. Her attention span is kind of all over the place, so she’s not exactly surprised when she can’t recall such an establishment. Her attention span is especially skewed when she’s with Marina, but that’s not really her fault.

A bakery, though? What would be at a bakery? Pearl doesn’t think she’s ever been to a bakery before. A bakery has bread, right? And maybe other things? Pearl is doing mental jumping jacks when she realizes she’d pretty much go anywhere if Marina was with her and if it’s something that Marina liked.

Damn. She really has it bad for her.

Pearl pushes the thought to the back of her mind before she types out her reply. “ _Sounds dope. You wanna meet at the subway station?_ ”

 

Pearl throws on some casual attire before heading out and underground to meet Marina in the subway. She tries to keep it lowkey, since she didn’t want to be stopped by fans, making her late to meet Marina. She throws the hood of her pink hoodie over her head as she hurries down the stairs of the subway station and crosses the platform to get to where Marina said she was at. The smell of dirt and must fills her nostrils and her ears flicked at the roar of a passing train speeding down the rails and the sound of shoes padding against soiled concrete.

Pearl never really took the subway a lot; she’d much rather ride in the back of a limousine than be in a crowded car that jerked her from wall to wall. But, if she was with Marina, she guessed that the ride wouldn’t be so bad.

Speaking of the octoling, Pearl spots Marina’s styled hair from across the station, and their eyes meet. Marina’s teal eyes light up and she grins, waving Pearl over to join her at the platform. Heart thumping in her eardrums, Pearl quickens her pace as much as her stubby legs allow, sneakers tapping against the concrete as she closed the distance between her and the other girl.

Pearl’s mouth goes dry at Marina’s casual attire—a white crop-top and acid-wash jeans, with a cute headband adorning her head. Pearl averts her gaze from Marina’s toned stomach and instead lays her eyes on Marina’s grinning face.

“Hi, Pearlie!” Marina greets, beaming at the shorter inkling. “Thanks for meeting up with me. I’m surprised you were up this early, I hope I didn’t wake you up—”

“Nah, you didn’t,” Pearl assures her, standing at Marina’s side while they stare down the tracks, waiting for their train to arrive. “Woke up early ’cos I thought I was gonna be late to work, but then I remembered we’re off today. I was actually considerin’ texting you first to ask if you wanted to hang out, but I figured you’d probably want some time alone on your day off.”

Marina shrugs, and Pearl notes the sound of an oncoming train. “I get bored when I’m alone, plus I love hanging out with you when we’re not working!” She flashes Pearl a bright, sharp-toothed grin when their train screeches to a halt in front of them, an overhead speaker crackling to life, announcing the arrival of the train to downtown Inkopolis.

“Aw, do you miss your little Pearlie when you’re not with her?” Pearl teases, giggling at Marina’s indignant expression as they crossed the threshold into the car. Pearl notes that Marina’s cheeks flush a dark teal at the inkling’s jab.

Huh. Wonder what that could mean.

“Does your neck hurt carrying around that big head of yours?” Marina retorts, but there’s no venom in her words; she’s snickering.

The ride to Inkopolis carries on like this, with playful banter and retorts, and Pearl feels herself relaxing against the cold and uncomfortable subway car seat. Marina’s laugh is like the pealing of church bells to her ears, so she keeps up with the jokes as much as she can. She enjoys this—this casual outing, no managers, no fans, no schedule, no rehearsals—just her and Marina hanging out and going wherever their legs take them. At this rate, Pearl might ask for days off more often, but she doubts that would fly with her talent agency and Off The Hook’s manager.

Oh, well. It would be worth a shot.

 

Eventually the subway car dumps the two at downtown Inkpolis’s platform and they hop off, grateful to finally be off the rickety ride. Marina stretches her arms over her head and Pearl has to look away before she makes a fool of herself. She didn’t want Marina to catch her staring at her like some sort of freak.

“So, this bakery, huh,” Pearl starts, hoping to distract herself from being enraptured by Marina’s looks. They begin the trek to the stairs leading up from the station to downtown. “Never heard of it before.”

“Yeah, it’s fairly new, I think,” Marina replies, glancing down at Pearl as they traverse the stairs. “I’ve been going to it for a few weeks or so. It’s amazing. The bread is so soft, I just want to take a loaf of it home and use it as a pillow!”

Pearl snorts, hiding her struggles to keep up with Marina and her stupidly long legs. They’ve finally ascended the stairs and are outside, the sun beating down onto the two. “Only you would think about using bread as a pillow.”

“But you have to admit, it’s an innovative idea,” Marina says. “You wouldn’t have to get up for a midnight snack. It’s right there.”

“You got a point, Mar,” Pearl concedes, basking in the glow of Marina’s smile at the response. Marina always smiles when Pearl uses the nickname. Or maybe the inkling was reading too much into it. She shakes her head quickly when Marina looks away, clearing her thoughts.

“It’s just a few more blocks away. Think you can keep up?” Marina stops at a crosswalk and presses the metal button on the light post, waiting for the signal to cross.

“I may have stubby legs, but these stubby legs are powerful,” Pearl warns, tapping the toe of her shoe against the sidewalk.

Marina gets a look in her eye. Her lips curl into a smirk. “Prove it.”

Pearl narrows her eyes at Marina’s challenging words, then glances at the crosswalk. She turns her gaze back to Marina, chest puffed out slightly. “Fine then. When the sign over there changes, we run. Whoever gets to the bakery first without ralphing all over themselves wins.”

“Deal.”

 

Marina is faster than Pearl, by a long shot.

Pearl supposes it’s a good thing, seeing as she didn’t know where the bakery was located. So, when Marina halts some ways ahead of her, she figures that they had finally reached their destination. Huffing, Pearl kicks off the concrete and uses the rest of her energy to sprint towards Marina, wheezing as she stumbles to a stop in front of the other. Marina seems completely unfazed by the light cardio exercise, save for a light sheen of sweat on her forehead. Pearl is doubled over, hands on her knees, panting as she struggled to catch her breath. She coughs when she feels a light touch on the top of her head, and she glances up through her lashes to see Marina smiling at her.

“You—win this time—Mar—” Pearl manages between gasps. Her face feels flushed pink and she’s extremely flustered. Maybe the pink hoodie wasn’t such a brilliant idea on a warm day.

“I’ve never seen you run so fast before!” Marina exclaims, and Pearl tries not to freeze when she feels Marina’s hand slide from the top of her head to rub small circles on her back. Her ears were beginning to ring. “Are you okay though? You look a little hot, maybe you should take off the hoodie?”

The pink inkling heaved a sigh and stood up, finally catching her breath. She shakes her head, the ringing in her ears beginning to quieten. “Nah, ’m fine. But that wasn’t the fastest I can go, I’ll have you know.”

Marina just snorts, rolling her teal eyes, lips pulling into a smirk. “Whatever makes you feel better, short-stack. Also, this is the bakery.”

Pearl blinks, turning her attention to the building the two were in front of. She glances through the windows and sure enough, what greeted her was a variety of baked goods that made her stomach growl ferociously, so much so that she saw Marina’s ears twitch in her peripheral vision. The octoling stifles a laugh.

“Wanna go inside?” Marina flashes her wallet. “My treat.”

“Oh no, you’re not paying, I am,” Pearl begins to argue, ducking into the bakery behind Marina. Cool air hits her in the face and cools her sweat-soaked skin. “Don’t argue with me on this.”

“Excuse me? I was the one who invited you to come, so I should be the one to pay,” Marina counters, already whipping out her card. “Get whatever you want. It’s on me.”

Pearl purses her lips, narrowing her eyes at the octoling, who was all smiles. “You’re insufferable sometimes, Mar.”

“But you still love me, right?”

A fang sinks into Pearl’s lower lip at the reply, but she managed to cover it up by just rolling her eyes. The taste of her own blood fills her mouth—she had broken skin. She doesn’t know _why_ that simple statement got to her like that.

Pearl puts herself on autopilot and orders a blueberry muffin while her brain does what it usually does and overthinks everything. She replays every smile Marina has flashed her and the feeling of Marina’s hand rubbing circles on her back, gentle and caring. The skin under her hoodie tingles at the thought.

_Friends shouldn’t feel this way about other friends_ , she tells herself. _You need to get over this stupid crush. It would be bad for your and Marina’s career._

“Pearl?”

_Besides…Marina could do so much better than me_.

“Hey, Pearlie?”

Pearl blinks, and her train of thought crashes and burns when she’s brought back to reality, and to Marina’s hand waving in her face. They’re sitting down at one of the tables in the bakery, and she doesn’t remember pulling out a chair to take a seat. She shakes her head and Marina pulls back, face colored in concern, brows knitted together more than they already are.

“Are you okay? You just spaced out for a good five minutes,” Marina says softly, and Pearl’s heart aches at the emotion in Marina’s voice. _She couldn’t care about you that much._

“Oh. Sorry. ’M fine.” It’s a lie, a huge lie, and Pearl is a terrible liar. She knows Marina is aware of this, yet the other girl does not push it any further. Instead, she studies Pearl silently while the other girl slowly eats the rest of her muffin, crumbs falling all over her chest and lap.

Pearl hears Marina tut, and the next thing she knows, the other girl is standing up to lean over the table, hand cupping her cheek, thumb swiping a few renegade crumbs sticking to the corner of Pearl’s mouth.

Pearl’s jaw immediately goes slack and her whole body reacts to the touch by shooting out of the chair at lighting fast speeds, muffin cup and crumbs spilling onto the table and floor with the sudden movement. Her back is board straight and her face feels like it was doused in gasoline and lit on fire. Marina’s arm is still lifted, hand in the air in the same position it was when it was lightly touching Pearl’s face, and she’s staring up at the inkling, expression unreadable. Pearl could feel curious stares from other people in the bakery bore into her back.

“S-Sorry!” she squeaks, voice pathetic and small. “I—uh—I’ll be right back!”

And before Marina could say anything, Pearl is out of the bakery faster than she was running to it.


	2. Chapter 2

Marina can only blink in response to watching Pearl rush out of the bakery, leaving blueberry muffin crumbs in her wake. Her arm is still extended from brushing a few stray crumbs off Pearl’s face, the feeling of the inkling’s soft skin still tingling on her fingers. She blinks again, and again, until her arm gently falls onto the table, teal-clawed fingers flexing repeatedly.

Marina, like much of her kind, is very analytical and calculating, but mostly with technical aspects of heavy machinery and whatnot. Ever since she arrived on the surface, her analytical abilities helped her greatly in reading people and their moods. And, when Pearl greeted her at the subway platform earlier, Marina immediately sensed something was off. But, she didn’t comment on it. Marina knows Pearl. Even though most people would believe, with her cushy upbringing, that Pearl would make an uproar about any discomfort, Marina knows that Pearl keeps most of her feelings under wraps.

It’s not like this is the first time Marina’s noticed it. Marina has always noticed the sly glances, the slightly flushed cheeks, and Pearl’s insistence on keeping a sort of distance between them. At first, Marina originally thought it’s just because she’s an octoling—the inkling’s sworn enemy, etcetera, etcetera, but Pearl was her _friend_. Pearl would never act squeamish near Marina just because of her species.

It was only when, after years on the surface and exposure to inkling culture and mannerism, that Marina gathered enough data to realize what was up with Pearl.

Marina thinks back to the fuzzier times in her head of her service in the Octarian forces. She tries to not relive any of the gruesome details, but instead thinks back to more simpler things. She knows that members of the Octarian forces were never allowed to really experience…feelings, really, mostly because most of them were sanitized. It was only when Marina heard the Inkantation and disappeared to the surface that she was able to experience actual emotions for the first time—happiness, sadness, anger—and the list goes on and on. And, Marina realizes, that her first experience with love was with Pearl.

And through the analysis of inkling entertainment, media, and mannerisms, Marina concluded that Pearl developed romantic feelings for her.

Marina heaves a sigh, dragging her hands down her face. She swiftly cleans up the table and throws their garbage away before exiting the bakery, hoping Pearl is nearby. A quick scan of her surroundings tells Marina that Pearl is nowhere to be seen.

 _Good job_ , she chides herself, eyes finding interest in her shoelaces. _You scared off your best friend because you couldn’t keep your hands to yourself. She probably hates me now._

She shakes her head, some of her hair flinging free from her headband. She tucks the stray tentacles back in place and inhales deeply. Pearl can’t have gone far.

 

After what feels like hours of searching, missed calls, and ignored texts, Marina finds Pearl sitting in an alleyway a few blocks away from the bakery.

Pearl’s hoodie is pulled completely over her hair, her face buried in her knees and her arms wrapped around her legs, pulled close against her body. Marina frowns; Pearl looks so small like this. She wants to just pick the inkling up and hold her close, but she knows that would only scare the other away again. She needs to take it slow.

Marina slowly closes the distance between her and Pearl, the sound of her footsteps against the dirty concrete alerting the smaller girl that someone was hear. Pearl glances up at Marina, golden eyes shiny and face dewy with shed tears. At the sight of Marina, she immediately buries her face back in her knees, softly mumbling, “Go away.”

The words are uttered weakly, no venom in them, and Marina sighs, sinking next to pearl and crossing her legs. “And why do you think I’d do that, Pearlie?”

Marina waits for some sassy retort, but Pearl is silent for a tick. She then lets out a weak chuckle, head slowly rising as she leans back against the brick wall behind her. Pearl doesn’t meet Marina’s eyes, instead staring off into space, blinking slowly.

“Heh. Don’t know why I even bothered. You’re too stubborn.” Pearl’s voice sounds rough, and she clears her throat. “Sorry I just…ran out of there like that.”

“It’s okay, Pearlie,” Marina says softly, her shoulder brushing against Pearl’s. Pearl doesn’t make an effort to move away. “Are you okay? Did I hurt you? I know I have long nails, I thought I might have accidentally scratched you or something—”

“No, no,” Pearl interjects, finally making eye contact with Marina. “You didn’t hurt me. I know you’d never hurt me, not even on accident. It’s just—I’m just so stupid—”

“Hey, hey, what’s all this about?” Marina interrupts, question rhetorical. She is aware of what this is about. She just needs Pearl to say it out loud. “Why are you saying you’re stupid? That’s definitely not the case.”

Pearl heaves a heavy sigh, shoulders sagging as if a weight had been placed upon them. “I’ll ruin everything if I tell you.”

Marina nibbles on her bottom lip in contemplation, before she tentatively reaches to rest her hand over Pearl’s. She expected the other girl to flinch, or even worse, run away—but Pearl merely tenses for a second before relaxing, and Marina takes the initiative to thread their fingers together. This must give Pearl a little push.

“It’s just…” she starts, eyes staring up at the cloudless sky, searching for the proper words. “You’re really cool, Marina. I’ve always thought you were cool, from the moment we met on Mount Nantai. You’re smart, you’re funny, you’re an amazing singer, and—and you’re really pretty—and—” Pearl sucks in a breath before continuing, not meeting Marina’s eyes. “God, this is so, so _stupid_ —”

“I like you too, Pearlie.”

Pearl sputters immediately, her grip on Marina’s hand tightening considerably. She whips her head towards her, eyes wide and shiny, cheeks flushed a dusky pink. “Wh— _what?_ ”

Marina uses her free hand to scratch the back of her neck sheepishly. “Yeah…it took me awhile to realize it but…I like you, a lot. I mean, of course I liked you already, as a friend, but this is like, _like_ , you know what I mean?”

Pearl seems shell-shocked. “How did…how did you know?”

“Well, you know how us Octarians are,” Marina says simply, giving Pearl’s hand a squeeze. “Lately I just noticed something different about you and how you acted around me, so I just thought about it for awhile and came to the conclusion that you have a massive crush on me.”

“I-It’s not a _crush!_ ” Pearl stammers, sounding indignant but still cracking a smile. “What are we, ten?”

“Well, one of us certainly looks like it,” Marina says, and that earns her a playful shove from Pearl.

The two dissolve into a laughing fit, shoving at each other playfully and throwing some sly retorts through their giggles. Pearl’s mood seems to have done a complete one-eighty, and Marina is glad, basking in the warmth of Pearl’s toothy smile and her infectious laughter. They play-fight for a few more seconds before Marina gives Pearl a shove and Pearl topples over, tugging Marina with her.

The two fall silent for a bit, Marina leaning over the smaller girl, locks of her hair tumbling out of her hairband and coiling just above Pearl’s face. The inkling looks up at Marina, eyes wide and shining, cheeks a deep pink. Marina feels her face flush at the sudden position, especially because they were in an alley and anyone could walk up.

“You know, Pearl,” Marina begins, hand straying up to brush against Pearl’s skin. This time, she does not run away. “You always talk about how I’m pretty, but you’re pretty, too.”

“Yeah, you’re pretty,” Pearl says, voice cracking. “Pretty gay.”

“Oh, shut up and kiss me already, shorty.”

Pearl gives Marina a fake salute and nods. “Yes, ma’am!”

Marina’s never kissed anyone before. Especially not in a romantic way. It was a tad clumsy at first, with her and Pearl’s lips crashing together, a bit too eagerly, causing their teeth to clack together. They both pull away with a snort, but then continued, gently. Pearl’s lips are soft and pliant against Marina’s, and the octoling detects a hint of flavored chapstick. Eventually they have to pull away to catch their breaths, and Pearl looks wonderful, face flushed, hair a mess, and her lips slightly swollen from their kisses.

“You have no idea how much I thought about doing that,” Pearl says, breaking the silence.

“Who’s pretty gay now?” Marina replies, giggling. Pearl rolls her eyes and Marina leans back, pulling Pearl back up with her.

“Both of us,” the smaller girl counters, leaning her head against Marina’s shoulder. “Sorry for running away from you in the bakery.”

Marina half-shrugs, laying her head on top of Pearl’s. “It’s okay, Pearlie. At least we’ve got things settled for now.”

The two sit in comfortable silence, the rumbling of passing cars an ambient noise. Pearl’s arm snakes around Marina’s elbow and the octoling looks down at her.

“You wanna come back to my place? We can order a pizza and watch stupid movies,” Marina asks, and Pearl’s eyes light up. She hops up and helps Marina to her feet, never letting her hand go.

“I’d love to, Mar.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry if this chapter seems choppy! i really wanted to finish this i love them so much :(
> 
> thanks for reading! i hope you enjoyed it, feel free to leave a kudos or a comment!


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